


how to survive a harem: a guide by han jisung, main character

by maewoji



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Cliche, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Han Jisung | Han is a Ray of Sunshine, Han Jisung | Han-centric, Harems, M/M, Matchmaking, Romance, Self-Aware Story, Slow Burn, Social Anxiety, Teenage Drama, aged-down characters, all the romance cliches, fuck the universe, i'm sorry jisung i still love you but i'm projecting, jisung is trying there's just too many men, some scenes aren't necessarily panic attacks but they're similar
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-25
Updated: 2020-12-20
Packaged: 2021-03-06 02:47:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 8,186
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25506193
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/maewoji/pseuds/maewoji
Summary: Han Jisung is a main character. And a really shitty one when it comes down to it.He's starting to get tired of dodging all the talking animals and radioactive artifacts the universe keeps throwing his way because believe it or not, superheroing isn't really a sensible career option to commit to as a preteen.Well, turns out the universe listens when you have sleep deprived rants cursing its name at one thirty in the morning. It also turns out that the universe thinks you're a little shit who keeps rejecting every. single. damn. story. setup. and thinks you're getting too old for this crap even if you're seventeen and afraid of commitment.The universe switches gears. Especially on that commitment thing. Multiple times over. All at once. The bastard.(Discontinued but rebooted. Check Twitter @skzhtsh for more details.)
Relationships: Bang Chan/Seo Changbin, Han Jisung | Han/Everyone, Han Jisung | Han/Yang Jeongin | I.N, Hwang Hyunjin/Lee Felix, Kim Seungmin/Lee Minho | Lee Know
Comments: 22
Kudos: 141





	1. exposition

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Jisung goes to the local Korean convenience store, has a dialogue with a cat, and laments his natural attraction to world saving animal companions.

With a bottle of black hair dye in one hand and a few Melona Bars in the other, Jisung has successfully accomplished his convenience store stealth mission once again.

He tugs absently at the loops of his face mask as the tired-looking cashier rings up his items. It’s five to one in the morning and also probably the only time Jisung can go to the nearest Korean convenience store without the universe throwing another world saving weapon or something at him, thank you very much.

The cashier finishes ringing him up, so Jisung hands over a few won and grabs his bagged items. Sending a quick thank you in English over his shoulder at the cashier, he pushes through the door and into the darkness of a dimly lit street.

Street lights blink past as he ambles home. There’s no one out tonight too, the streets empty and silent. Jisung should probably hurry if he doesn’t want his ice cream to melt, but it’s quiet tonight, rare. He should savor it while it lasts.

Only a few meters from his house, he hears a rustling in the bushes and regrets every thought he ever had because he is never going to get a break.

Jisung stops on the sidewalk and takes a deep breath. Out from the bushes, as expected, jumps a sleek white cat. There’s a soft pink aura around it that pulls at Jisung’s chest and centers his vision on it. It struts over prettily to Jisung before settling right before him. Its eyes are a striking blue, too bright to be real, and there’s a pink heart-shaped marking on its forehead.

Great, now the magical girls are recruiting.

“I’m sorry?” The smooth female voice coming from the damn cat is tinted with confusion.

Jisung blows air into his cheeks. “Oh, guess I said that out loud,” he says. He reaches into his plastic bag and grabs one of his Melona bars. Might as well eat one of them if he has to listen to this whole spiel again.

The cat looks genuinely outraged. “Excuse me? What are you—”

“Don’t let me stop you from making your speech or something,” he tells her, “I’m just hungry.”

Finally, the cat seems to snap out of whatever stupor she was in. She clears her throat, covering her mouth with a dainty white paw. The air shifts around them and there’s that pull at his chest again. “Aren’t you, uhm, more surprised? That I’m—”

“A talking cat? In Korean nonetheless? No, not really.” Jisung takes another bite of his Melona and scratches the back of his head. “You’re not the first talking animal to try to offer me world saving magical powers.”

The cat has the audacity to look embarrassed. From the corner of his vision, Jisung sees the dramatic background around them start to fade. “O-oh, I see. Well, will you be willing to help us out? The universe needs a protector, and you are a great fit—!”

Jisung crouches down to look the cat in the eye. “Sorry, _little miss_. I’m not really into the whole magical, responsibility to save the world thing. Thanks for the offer though.” He sends her a slight grin and pats her head twice.

It feels like time has stopped here, almost as if he made the deal, as if it were a new beginning. Then as soon as it occurred, it went away, leaving behind only the quiet of the night, a boy and a cat. The pull at his chest disappears.

He stands up straight and shoves his ice cream’s now useless popsicle stick into his plastic bag. He bows slightly to the cat before walking around her and continuing on his way home.

The second Jisung gets into his family’s home, he sighs and tugs his face mask off. “Hyuung! You won’t believe what happened again!”

Jisung’s older brother looks up from his phone. “You ran into mysterious magical villains in an alleyway?”

“Nope,” Jisung replies, popping the p, “Any other guesses?” He heads to the kitchen to shove the rest of his Melona bars into the fridge.

“Hmm, did you meet a fancy butler who revealed that we’re descended from royalty? Also, Jisung-ah, could you hand me a water glass?” Jisung’s father is seated at the kitchen counter, probably eating a late dinner.

Jisung complies, grabbing a glass from one of the pantry shelves. “Ddaeng! Why are you up anyway, pa?”

“ _Jet lag_. Thanks.” His father takes the glass and pours some water from a random pitcher on the kitchen counter. Was that where it was originally? Jisung doesn’t know, but he stops questioning it nowadays.

“Are you really dyeing your hair black just for school?” Jisung turns back to the living room, and his brother is looking curiously at his bottle of hair dye.

Jisung shrugs. “Don’t know if the teachers will notice this.” He pulls up his beanie to reveal bright blue hair, long and shiny despite him not washing it in a while. He ruffles his hair, pushes it back, and shoves his beanie back on.

“You know they never do,” his brother points out, “only characters outside of the story do, and considering your entire life seems to be the story you haven’t started, well…”

“You’re supposed to be dead, hyung, you have no say.”

Jisung’s brother sticks his tongue out before a small frown graces his features. “Sung-ah,” he starts, “you really have to start a story soon. This can’t go on forever.”

Jisung sighs. “I know, I know.” He walks over to slump down on the couch. “The universe just sucks and keeps giving me superhero setups. I’m waiting for something where I don’t have to worry about dropping dead, you know?”

His brother snorts. “Just wait till the universe gives you like, a love story setup or something.” Like the smug bastard he is, he doesn’t see Jisung’s arms coming before he is pushed off the couch. Nice.

“Shut up.” Jisung scowls. “You know only female protags get the love story setups.”

“Which is extremely sexist.”

Jisung throws his hands in the air. “I don’t know, ask the universe, hyung! I don’t know what their standards are for setups. Speaking of, did you know they sent the magical girls to me today?”

“Ooh shit, was that what you were talking about?”

“Yeah, talking cat again, but she was pretty and dainty and the pink heart kind of gave her away.” Jisung once again pulls up his beanie and runs a hand through his hair. “She was nice. Didn’t get her name, though I don’t think we’ll be meeting again. They never try more than once after the setup’s been broken.”

“Really?” His brother raises an eyebrow at him, finally getting his ass back on the couch. “Could’ve sworn I’ve seen the one alien rabbit lurking around here a few times.”

“Oh, that thing. It’s kind of infamous in the protag community for being a shady bastard. I wouldn’t talk to that if I were you.”

“Shady? Like, half your setups are shady.”

“This is like, shady times fifty. I think it was a runaway magical girl mascot? Something happened and now nobody wants to go through with its story setup. Something about _witches_ and death, _stuff like that_.”

Jisung’s brother lets out a low whistle. “ _Wild_.”

“You’re telling me,” Jisung says, slouching further into the couch. His brother hums in agreement, now back to casually scrolling through his phone.

Moments pass before he looks up and exclaims softly. Jisung turns to him with a raised eyebrow. “I almost forgot. Something came in the mail for you.”

“Is it the new humidifier I ordered?” Jisung pushes himself up to sit comfortably on the couch.

“No, it’s a letter. From your new school.” His brother reaches over to the coffee table where a medium-sized envelope rests that probably wasn’t there before, so something must be going on.

He hands it to Jisung who takes it with the confidence of a man holding a bomb, which is none. “All the way out here? Couldn’t they just email or something? International post is expensive.”

Jisung brother grins. “I don’t know, ask the universe.”

With a pout, Jisung starts to tear into the letter. “Don’t tell me you think this is a story setup.”

“Okay, I’m not telling you.”

What a bastard. Jisung pushes a hand into his brother’s shit-eating grin, hiding the amused tilt to his mouth. “Well, it better not be a magic school.”

His brother shrugs. “Doesn’t seem to be.”

Finally getting the envelope open, Jisung slips out a few pages. His eyes skim quickly over the contents. It doesn’t say much, not anything he doesn’t already know. Some stuff about his scholarship, room accommodations which is weird for high school, but Jisung will take free housing over bumming around as a minor with parents out of the country. There’s some more information like when classes start (two months from now, if we’re rounding up here), benefits of enrolling early (which he did, and there aren’t much), different programs the school offers (definitely taking up that Audio and Music Production elective) and stuff like that.

The other page was a little more interesting. Not by much but useful.

“It’s just room assignments,” Jisung says, shoving the paper back into the envelope, “I’ll get my key on the 13th after I land.”

“Suspicious.” Jisung’s thoughts exactly. “Are you really sure this isn’t a setup?”

“At least it’s not a magic school or one of those superhero ones,” Jisung replies as he tosses the envelope back onto the coffee table, “Plus, it’s not that bad to have accommodation as soon as possible.” Plus, it’s not that bad to have a kind of normal setup for once in his life. He’s almost giddy about it.

“Right. Now go sleep, Sung-ah.” Jisung’s brother shoos him off the couch. “It’s two am, and your tiny bones need to grow.”

“You’re not much taller,” Jisung retorts, a grin still on his lips. He gets up anyway and ambles lazily over to his room.

He plans to start packing and dyeing his hair tomorrow, so he could laze around for a few days before his flight. He was fine lounging about and watching Netflix and eating snacks in his room for the next few days since he expects a lot of setting up and dodging unwanted setups the second he lands in Korea. It’ll probably give the universe another opportunity to throw something at Jisung. He doesn’t know what, but he’s not necessarily looking forward to it.

All Jisung wants is a normal, non magicky story for him to main character it all up in. Maybe even one of those dorky cliche high school plots where he joins a sports team or something, he’s not that picky (but he can’t really play sports so uhm, maybe not).

...or really anything that doesn’t involve imminent death for every party involved. Just a thought, universe.

A very quick shower and a glass of chocolate milk later, Jisung is ready to go to bed. And of course by go to bed, he means scroll absentmindedly through his phone until his brain shuts off.

Let’s hope the universe listens this time around.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you were a little confused, normal text is in Korean, italics are in English.
> 
> Next chapter is where all the "action" starts, so I hope I get that out sooner rather than later. Thank you for reading!


	2. inciting incident

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Jisung trips in the middle of the airport, almost has his slightly overpriced food spilled for no reason, and meets a pretty boy with sleepy eyes.

Are we really surprised that Jisung is considering sprinting across the airport despite his aversion to any kind of physical activity? No, no we are not.

So. It is not a surprise that Jisung finds himself sprinting across the airport despite his aversion to any kind of physical activity. 

He’s wearing a black face mask, the fashionable coat his parents gifted him for his sixteenth birthday, a (probably fake) Gucci shirt and plaid pajama pants that he threw on because they were comfy. It’s the Han Jisung brand: panic chic. Wow, he’s good, someone should pay him for that, panic chic, that should be a thing.

The airport is bustling with life as expected. Jisung dodges the next wave of people exiting the gates as he makes his way to his own.

Finally, Jisung finds himself at Gate 8. Most if not all the seats are already taken, and a few are already bumming around on the ground. His flight departs in two-ish hours (because of his parents’ paranoia, he got here a little early), and he’s craving something to consume (also the paranoia thing, breakfast was orange juice and a sandwich), so really there’s only one way to go from here.

He looks around and spots one of those airport cafes with the overpriced drinks nearby. Convenient.

The tension bleeds out of him when he steps up to the little stall and the smell of homemade coffee wafts into his face like organic bitter heaven on earth. He looks up at the menu and tugs his mask down.

 _"Uhm, one Iced Americano and one slice of blueberry cheesecake, please,"_ he says to the worker up front, already anticipating the sweet release of caffeine. Pro-tip: don’t stay up till two in the morning watching questionable YoTube videos the day before a flight. Maybe succeed in convincing your brother to buy you something caffeinated on the way to the airport.

_“Of course. Which drink size?”_

_“Uhh, medium, please.”_

The worker sends Jisung a business smile and starts work on Jisung’s Iced Americano. She could probably feel the tiredness radiating out of Jisung. Not what he was going for, but he’ll take it.

A few painful moments of waiting later, the worker comes back with a little brown paper bag and his beautiful Iced Americano.

_“ _That_ would be £11.69 total.” _

Jisung makes a face. It’s not as expensive as it could be, but really? Well, not one to take money away from small businesses, he hands over a 20 pound note and gains the required change. He leans down and takes a sip of the Iced Americano. Ahh, heaven.

He steps back and looks around the area for an empty spot to sit down and eat his cheesecake. He spots half a row of seats left empty and decides to make his way over there.

His suitcase’s wheels clack loudly against the smooth yet bumpy airport floor. Odd. This specific enormous suitcase (compared to Jisung at least) is new, only like a month old. Jisung feels like that’s a warning, an omen for something.

And of course, Jisung is right, and the universe is an asshole because his suitcase’s wheels get stuck on some random nick on the ground, and Jisung is sent sprawling towards the linoleum.

God, fuck. He braces himself for the impact and the sorry sound of his overpriced food hitting the floor. 

The impact never comes.

Instead, he feels something solid wrapped securely around his waist. He doesn’t want to risk looking up because this is insanely embarrassing and someone please kill him now.

_“Are you okay?”_

Okay wow, what an accent. Jisung cringes and tries to find his balance so he can go back to supporting his own weight and not dangle aimlessly with some guy’s arm supporting him. And that was definitely an arm despite it feeling as solid as a rock which is really hot and something Jisung needs to work on himself, but you didn’t hear that from him.

Since the universe hates him, he still almost trips onto his face again. He frantically grips the shoulder of the guy still holding onto his waist and wow this is awkward, please no. _“Fuck."_ (oh shit was he supposed to swear?) " _I’m really sorry, that was—I’m sorry, you didn’t have to—”_

_“Hey, it’s fine. Just, uh—up you go.”_

The guy gently guides Jisung back onto his feet. Jisung finally plants his feet firmly on the ground. He looks up to thank the guy and just like that, time seems to stop.

The sensible part of Jisung’s brain is telling him this is not good news and he should run before he gets lost in the setup or even accepts. The other, gayer part of Jisung’s brain is telling him that this is a beautiful man you just embarrassed yourself in front of, your life is over, and you probably look really stupid right now, help.

Pale skin dusted with light, almost invisible freckles contrasts deeply with the black of the muscle tee and pants he’s wearing. Jisung, now upright, can now get a good look at those muscly arms, and wow. It doesn’t help that this guy’s face is pretty too. A sharp, square jawline, shapely lips, neatly arranged dark hair with a slight curl, and Jisung could get lost in those droopy eyes framed by long lashes, and oh.

OH. Oh.

This stranger’s eyebrows furrow. He looks at Jisung with concern. _“Are you sure you’re alright?”_

Jisung vaguely sees the fuzzy outline of the rest of the world. The telltale pull at his chest returns. He can almost hear the cheesy romantic background music surrounding them.

...wait. No, yeah, that’s actually cheesy romantic background music.

 _“Ah, yes. Yes, I’m okay.”_ Kind of.

Okay, Jisung was not okay. He just embarrassed himself in front of a cute boy who will probably be his love interest and the love of his life or maybe the second love interest who Jisung eventually rejects for the other guy because somehow the universe eventually decided to give him a _love story._

A love story setup. In the middle of the airport. While he’s sleep-deprived and unable to make rational decisions.

The pull at his chest tugs sharply once again.

Great.

 _“Uhm, I’m really sorry about that.”_ Jisung looks off to the side and tugs at the strings of his face mask, not wanting to make awkward eye contact with this guy. This very attractive guy with pretty eyes and a hot accent.

Oh god, who thought it was a good idea to have Jisung lead a _love story_? He’s a fucking wreck.

From the corner of Jisung’s eye, he sees the pretty guy shrug. _“Hey, it’s no biggie. At least you didn’t drop your food, right?”_ Oh no, his grin is pretty too. It makes his eyes into slight crescents, and he has _dimples_. Dimples!

Jisung’s little bisexual heart will not handle this well.

 _"Right.”_ Jisung lets out a brief laugh that sounds forced even to him. The pretty guy’s expression doesn’t change. He’s probably waiting for—actually Jisung doesn’t know. Something.

Maybe an introduction? Oh god, maybe an introduction.

Introductions in love stories mean going along with the setup, and Jisung has no idea if he wants to go through with this, he didn’t sleep nearly enough to make life-changing decisions. The superhero setups were easy to reject, but this is surprisingly normal.

Okay. Split second decision, do we go with this or not? Jisung doesn’t know if he’s going to get another normal setup soon, and his brother’s words from a few days ago make some sort of sense, so he really needs to start some kind of story to fulfill his main character duty or whatever. What kind of risk is he taking if he accepts this story setup (which he hasn’t at the moment. The fuzzy focus screen and the romantic music is still playing), and what risk is he taking if he doesn’t? Is he willing to potentially spend the next few months or years with this admittedly cute guy as a love interest?

Jisung’s brain feels like it’s going a mile a minute which is weird because time is supposed to have stopped, remember? Ha, funny how his head defies all the storytelling laws. Maybe that’s why the universe hates him.

Well, the universe doesn’t hate him so much. It did give him this cutie with the hot Australian accent (he finally placed the accent, here Jisung thought British accents were the best accents, whoops).

Okay. Fuck it.

This is probably the best the universe is going to give him because this guy is very attractive and seems really sweet, so whether or not this is his future boyfriend, he seems like a cool guy to be around, and cool guys are cool. He doesn’t seem to speak Korean, but Jisung speaks decent English and why are they meeting at an airport? How long do these kinds of stories last again? Is he supposed to like, do romantic crap? This is a lot. Fuck.

Jisung takes a sip of his not spilled Iced Americano.

Let’s do this.

_"Uh, thank you. Really. For, uh, not letting me fall.”_

Cute guy smiles again. _"L_ _ike I said, it’s nothing at all.”_

Okay, here it comes. _“Uhm, I’m Jisung. Let me buy you a drink to thank you. A coffee or something _,”__ Jisung offers. He’s not necessarily broke so he could spare a few pounds to be polite and hopefully know more about the cute guy.

“Jisung? Ah, are you Korean? Your English is great.” The Australian accent is completely gone, and his pronunciation is almost perfect. What.

Jisung blanks. “Your Korean is great.”

Cute guy chuckles. Jisung doesn’t get what’s funny but okay, he’s still cute, and Jisung is still embarrassing himself. The background music fades and the pull at Jisung’s chest tightens before the tension in his arms loosen and the dramatic background around them fades. There’s a distinct click in his head that feels right.

Okay, so this is something. Jisung’s brother would be proud.

“Well, I’m Korean too. I just grew up outside of the country.” Cute guy shrugs. “I guess I can take you up on the drink offer as long as it’s not coffee. I’m Bang Chan by the way.”

“Han Jisung,” Jisung uselessly offers. He knows your name, idiot.

This will be interesting.


	3. call to adventure

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Jisung is finally leading a story, makes a new friend in his (first) love interest, and almost misses something important.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A quick warning for those continuing to read this: social anxiety, while not explicitly mentioned, is involved in the story both as a part of the character and a plot device. There are also some moments where the universe warns Jisung of missed milestones in the story being described similarly to panic attacks or paranoia. It's not quite that, but it's similar.
> 
> If you feel uncomfortable or if it is triggering to read, I will be providing warnings at the beginning of each chapter including such content so you can skip that part.
> 
> For this chapter, it begins at the line "And before long, Jisung feels a rising tension in his chest." and ends at the line, "And as quick as it came, the tension bleeds from his chest when a familiar face appears in the seat beside him."

So. Jisung accepted a setup.

That’s new.

He’s kind of almost maybe freaking out about it. Right now though is not the time because he’s having drinks (and cheesecake) with a cute guy who may or may not be his future boyfriend? High stakes, man.

Jisung stirs his Iced Americano with his straw as he looks at Chan from the corner of his eye who is happily sipping on his mango and pineapple juice (that is distinctly less expensive than Jisung’s Iced Americano). Reading threads on the Romance Protagonist subreddit when he was bored did not prepare him for this.

A conversation. Jisung needs to start one of those because as much as awkward silence is an option, it gets on his nerves and makes him overthink absolutely everything.

Topic ideas, go! The whole love story thing? No. Love interests and antagonists don’t know they’re in a story, it’ll just be weird and possibly concerning to bring it up.

School? He doesn’t even know how old Chan is. He could be younger or older or look younger than he is. Jisung knows he has little tact, but that may be a bit too forward.

Something else. Airport?

“What were you doing in Malaysia anyway, Chan-ssi?” And did that just come out of Jisung’s mouth? He takes his little plastic fork and grabs another bite of his cheesecake before he embarrasses himself even more because  _ wow  _ that wasn’t supposed to happen.

Luckily, Chan doesn’t seem to mind the semi-invasive question. “Ah, I had a workshop here for my internship. I’m trying to get as many pre-college credits as possible,” he explains. Oh crap, a college student? Jisung, being a scrawny incoming 10th grader, is so out of Chan’s league right now, it’s not even funny.

“Ah, so you’re a hyung then?” Jisung teases anyway, disregarding his brain screaming this is a terrible idea.

Chan sheepishly scratches his nape. “I guess so. How old are you, Jisung-ssi?”

Okay, he brings it up, nice. Jisung quickly does the math in his head. “I’m fifteen…?” Jisung narrows his eyes. That doesn’t sound right even if he’s on that unaccompanied minors flight program thing. It hits a second later. “Ah, I’m fifteen internationally,” he explains, “I’m seventeen technically”

“Ah, I’m twenty years old myself.”

Chan uses such polite language. Jisung’s mouth moves faster than his brain. “Hey, you’re older than me Channie hyung, I think you can drop the formalities.” He semi-regrets it because it comes off as a little rude and didn’t your parents teach you to be polite, what the hell Han Jisung?

Well, apparently Chan doesn’t find it offensive at all, and he giggles (fucking giggles). “Okay, okay, Jisung-ah.”

“ _ Cool _ .” Jisung beams.

Internally, he breathes a sigh of relief. Thank god that worked.

“I guess we’re on the same flight then?” Chan gestures to their gate, apparently.

“Guess so.”

“We may have to board soon.”

Jisung’s eyes widen. “Aah! My cheesecake!” He stabs his plastic fork into his cheesecake slice and shovels the food into his mouth, intent on finishing it before they have to line up and board the plane. Chan giggles again. Jisung looks up from his half-finished cake, food still in his mouth. “What?”

Chan doesn’t stop giggling. He puts a hand to his mouth to stop it, but it doesn’t work. Jisung thinks it’s adorable.

“What?” Okay, so Jisung’s teasing again. Can you blame him? He enjoys making people laugh. “Whaat, Channie hyung?”

Chan finally gets his giggles under control. “You look like a squirrel when you eat,” he says between amused little gasps.

Jisung blinks. Okay, that he wasn’t expecting. “Was that supposed to be an insult…?” Curse his big mouth.

“No, no!” Chan waves his hands in front of his face. “It’s cute.”

And Jisung feels warm inside. Not fluttery or anything, just warm. It’s the same feeling he gets when his older brother and mother cuddle with him on the couch, and they watch movies and just relax, and he just feels content. He feels small, but in the best way possible.

That feeling lasts a split second before disappearing as quick as it arrived.

Jisung doesn’t think much of it.

“Oh, hyung,” Jisung says as he swallows his last bite of cheesecake, “I think we can board now.”

People were already lining up at the gate, boarding passes in their hands. Jisung finishes up the last of his coffee, and Chan stands up to throw away his finished juice.

Before long, they were standing in line to board the plane.

And before long, Jisung feels a rising tension in his chest.

It’s a squeezing feeling, suffocating. Jisung thinks he has this under control, but fuck he doesn’t feel so in control now, why, what is happening. There aren’t many people here, he has done nothing wrong, what is why is why why.

He feels horrible, this is terrible, this is nothing and everything. His stomach sinks and vision blurs at the edges. Something feels like it’s banging on the back of his head, nagging at him constantly. It doesn’t hurt, but he feels like clawing at his skull.

Jisung’s missing something, isn’t he?

What is it?

Why is that nagging feeling at the back of his head there? Why is nothing clicking?

Think, Han Jisung, think.

Blink. The line moves.

Blink. He’s handing over his boarding pass.

Blink. He’s in his seat, and the nagging feeling is still there. It pricks at the skin behind his neck.

He looks around hopelessly. There’s something he was supposed to be doing. What was he supposed to be doing? Jisung sinks into his seat, helpless. Questions and answers and actions fly in his head, and he’s trying to put things together, but he’s still missing it.

And as quick as it came, the tension bleeds from his chest when a familiar face appears in the seat beside him.

“Hm, what a coincidence, Jisung-ah.” Chan’s eyes sparkle.

Something clicks in the back of his head. The questions and answers and actions clear up in his head, and he makes the connections.

Chan. Airport. Place. Story.

Oh. That’s what he was forgetting.

“Where are you off to?”

Chan tucks his carry-on next to Jisung’s in the overhead cabin and slides into the seat next to him. “I have another internship, so I’m helping teach music subjects at a few schools. What about you? Why are you off to Korea all by yourself?”

Jisung smiles, half out of politeness and half out of relief. “High school. I got a scholarship to some prissy boarding school, JYP Academy.”

Chan brightens. “So I might see you there! You’re a 10th grader, right?”

“Yeah.” That’s what he was missing. He needed to continue the story somehow. He needed the confirmation that they’ll see each other again.

“Awesome. For now, do you mind if I crash? I don’t think I’ve slept in sixteen hours.”

A laugh surprises its way out of Jisung’s mouth. “Go ahead, hyung.”

Go ahead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry Jisung, I love you, but I project sometimes when I'm writing. It happens, okay.
> 
> Thank you for reading~


	4. the new world

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Jisung moves into the overly expensive dorms, tries to relax, and promptly embarrasses both himself and a certain stranger who happens to have showered in Jisung's bathroom.

Jisung drags his two suitcases up the steps to the dorm building, and he sincerely regrets not spending more time working out back in Malaysia. Maybe he’ll run around campus grounds before school starts.

JYP Academy has a spotless and modern campus. Clean sidewalks, greenery, park benches, the whole shebang. It’s like a suburban community almost except for the four enormous school buildings on campus: two dorm buildings, the classroom building and the facilities building. Jisung would probably take twenty, thirty minutes going around the campus just once, it’s that large.

He huffs as he finally gets to the main entrance. He’s pretty sure there are elevators inside, so couldn’t they have built a ramp or something? Jeez.

Jisung pushes through the glass doors to the building. He is hit with a gust of chilled air, a deep contrast to summer heat outside.

He brings a hand to his shirt to fan himself, and he deeply regrets putting on a long sleeve shirt because his arms are sweating and sticky even in the air-conditioned lobby.

Spotting a wooden desk near the center of the room, he walks over.

The information desk worker looks up from his desktop. A plaque on the desk reads ‘Park Jinyoung, Dorm Manager’. “Yes, may I help you?”

“Uhm, yes. I’m Han Jisung, I’m here to get my key?”

“Alright.” The desk worker, Jinyoung, turns back to his screen, typing something onto his keyboard. Jisung just stands there, awkwardly fidgeting with the handle of one of his suitcases.

He reaches underneath the desk and pulls out a basket filled with keys labeled with different numbers. He fiddles around before finding what he was looking for.

He hands a key over to Jisung. “Here you go, room 325, third floor. Each floor has a common area. There’s a common kitchen, dining area, and gym on the first floor. If you need the kitchen restocked, there are certain forms you can fill out and you’ll get it within the week, or you can buy ingredients and stock the fridge yourself.”

Jisung takes it gratefully.

“If you have questions, you can go down here and talk to me or anyone who’s working here at the time. You can also email us. Things like that,”

“Thank you.”

“Run along now.” Jinyoung smiles. “Welcome to JYP.”

Certainly not ominous. Jisung feels almost indoctrinated. Deciding not to touch on that anymore than he needs to, he bows and drags his suitcases towards the elevator.

He arrives on the third floor and steps into the common area. Everything around Jisung, from the clean wooden boards beneath his feet, the abstract, modern looking paintings on the walls to the unnecessarily high tech furniture decorating the room screams expensive. How Jisung got into this school in the first place, with a full ride nonetheless, he has no clue.

There are hallways to the left and right and signs for the room numbers. Finding his, he turns to the right; Room 325 happens to be at the end of this hall.

At least Jisung would have some privacy. He hopes.

Cautiously, Jisung unlocks the door (why he’s so apprehensive, he has no clue, just in case though). With a click and a little push, the door swings open. He steps in, closes the door behind him, and, with a determined huff, looks around the room.

It’s clean. Too clean in fact. Obviously, considering they probably cleaned up these rooms from the previous year, and nobody has really done anything here recently.

It’s also bigger than he expected. Jisung doesn’t mind a large dorm sure, but this is a bit much for only one person. Although, when he thinks about it, it’s just too small for more. Maybe JYP had enough to spend on making these dorms as fucking expensive as possible.

Well, Jisung can’t complain. He really isn’t paying for any of this anyway, so he doesn’t really have the space to complain.

The room is furnished simply (enough, still looks expensive, but what can you do?). There’s a wooden bunk bed, loft bed? type situation next to the wall, one with the bed on the top and some storage situations underneath. There’s also a desk in one corner and a mini couch and table against the opposite wall.

Other than that, there isn’t much. In fact, most of the dorm room is empty space and carpet. There’s a door to his left which is probably that on-suite bathroom (what the hell JYP? the dorms have  _ on-suite bathrooms _ .)

Jisung brought an inflatable futon just in case, but apparently a lot of the essentials are covered. It almost feels more like a hotel than a dorm room.

He slides his suitcases next to the bed, intent on lazing around and unpacking later. He makes his way to the couch and plops himself onto it. A sigh escapes his mouth as he basically sinks into the couch. It’s so  _ soft _ . It’s like he’s in a bed of fluffy clouds and cotton candy. What the heck, this is  _ so  _ expensive. He’s not going to get over that.

He may be too lazy to climb up the loft, so it’s a relief that there’s such a heavenly piece of furniture right at his feet.

Jisung catches himself before his eyes flutter close. Huh, maybe he was more exhausted than he thought he was. Maybe, just for a bit before he unpacks...

“W-who the hell!”

Fuck. Fuckfuckfuckfuckfuck.

Jisung shrieks, very manly-like. The other person also shrieks, having just exited the  _ fucking bathroom _ .

Jisung flails wildly and falls halfway off the heavenly couch. The other person holds a towel to his, ehem, private areas and hugs the bathroom door frame. Jisung slaps a hand over his eyes. He’s totally not going to ogle this guy’s pale, blemish-free chest.

“Who the fuck are you?!”

“I live here! Who the hell are you!”

Jisung peeks through his fingers to catch a glimpse of the guy’s face, but—well fuck, not a good idea. He slaps his hand back over his eyes. “Put on some fucking clothes!”

“I was trying to, asshat!”

“Then get your clothes!”

“Why the—who the hell are you? Get out!”

“This is my dorm, I can’t just up and leave!”

“Well, neither can I, seeing as you’re still here, and I can’t put on my fucking clothes!”

Jisung feels his cheeks burn. Standing in his dorm with a naked stranger who has just exited his bathroom is not what he was planning to do today.

“Just get out!”

“You can’t kick me out!” Okay, Jisung, now maybe this stranger can kick you out, but rational action isn’t really Jisung’s forte.

“Just let me get my clothes, damn it!”

That at least, Jisung can indulge. He clumsily gets to his feet as best he can without use of his vision. He speeds his way to the door, looking only at his feet.

Fuck the whole universe because he trips over a bump in the carpet and tumbles towards to ground. He reaches to steady himself at the doorway. He tries to find his balance so he can just fucking leave before anything untoward happens and—

Fuck. Wrong doorway.

He comes face to admittedly pretty collar bones with the stranger.

Before he could stop himself, Jisung’s own wide eyes meet the stranger’s similarly shocked gaze and a few thoughts run through his head.

Wow, he’s pretty. His very existence is enhanced by the wet hair and water droplets decorating flushed skin, and woah.

He’s also pretty tall.

...

Fuck, he’s also definitely very naked behind that doorway.

And holy fuck was that  _ background music _ ?

What the absolute fuck, universe?

The thing in the back of his head clicks, and Jisung is sent sprawling away from the bathroom door, courtesy of this really pretty (and very naked) stranger.

“Get out!” He sounds distinctly embarrassed. Same, dude.

Jisung turns on his heels and marches towards the doorway. He flings the door open then swings it closed before pressing his back against the door. The hallway outside is mockingly silent.

Jisung presses his hands against his burning cheeks.

What the absolute fuck indeed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy birthday, Stay! Here's a little something something for our second anniversary.
> 
> Thank you for reading~


	5. head in the sand

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Jisung files a complaint, attempts to compromise, and ultimately tries to make the most of this mess.

“So,” Jinyoung starts with a raised eyebrow, “you’ve lost me. Could you please repeat your complaint?”

Jisung’s lips are pressed into a firm line and runs a hand through his recently dyed black hair. “Apparently, the school gave the two of us the same dorm room.” He gestures between himself and the other occupant of Room 325 (who, thank god, is fully dressed this time).

“We both believed that we had requested a single room,” the other guy adds.

Jisung bites the inside of his cheek. Don’t say anything unnecessary.

“Well, Room 325 is a single room, as are the many of the other rooms in the hall. There must have been an error with the availability, I apologize.” Jinyoung bows slightly at the two of them before turning back to his desktop. “If you will give me a few moments, I will look for other available single rooms. You can wait in the common area on the first floor, I will meet you upstairs when I have results.”

“Right. Thank you, Jinyoung-ssi.” The other guy bows low to the ground, and Jisung follows suit.

Jisung scrunches his face. It’s not ideal, but it’s the best he’s got for now, so he might as well wait. Hopefully things will turn out alright.

Okay, scratch that. Things will not turn out alright because the universe sucks and made this really pretty and insufferable boy as a love interest. Guess he’ll have to deal with a love triangle.

That makes him worry a bit. Who does he have to choose at the end? Does he have to choose himself or is the universe going to throw Chan or this guy at him as a final option? Jisung doesn’t think there even is a choice right now, Chan is such a dream that even this unrealistically pretty guy can’t reach. Or maybe it’s one of those enemies to lovers stories he’s seen around (don’t judge him, he’s a romantic, kind of, he knows this).

Well, maybe he doesn’t know this as much as he should. He should maybe read something about this type of setup.

They arrive at the first floor common area. Jisung immediately claims the nearest couch and is delighted to find it as soft as the one in his room.

Or not his room. Their room? He isn’t really sure anymore.

He slips his phone out of his pocket in a thinly veiled attempt to distract himself.

Of course, this is a bad idea because the heavy feeling in his throat returns.

Jisung does his best to tamp down the irrational panic building tension in his arms and chest. He knows he’s not doing what the story wants him to do, but god, can’t he have a break?

Rationally, and judging by the universe’s stupid clues, he’s supposed to introduce himself to this love interest guy, maybe form some sort of comraderie (or rivalry if it’s that enemies to lovers thing), perhaps get into another compromising position, who knows. Jisung really needs to start racking up more romance novel knowledge if he wants to survive all this.

The pressure and ticking in his head grows. Jisung grumbles to himself and sinks further into the couch.

“Excuse me?”

Oh god, Jisung doesn’t have the patience or brain power to deal with this guy. “It’s nothing. Just uncomfortable,” he murmurs, hoping this doesn’t blow out of proportion.

“Alright.” The disdain in the other guy’s voice is palpable.

Okay, Jisung is more than a little incapacitated right now, so his best option is to just shut up. Problem is, his mouth moves faster than his head. “Look, I don’t know what you want from me, I’m just tired, and I need some sleep. Please just…” he trails off, inhaling deeply.

Please just shut up now, Jisung. As much as he enjoys having a fast reaction time, it doesn’t really help in regular social situations.

Well, he guesses this is sticking.

The other guy scowls but doesn’t say anything more. Thank god. Jisung isn’t really thinking right now because he feels like choking. All his attention is on his phone, trying to ignore the universe banging loudly at his head, screaming at him to do something about this love interest.

Jokes on you, Jisung doesn’t want to do this, and if he doesn’t want to do this, it’s not happening.

The two of them sit in uncomfortable silence for the next thirty-something minutes before Jinyoung arrives, laptop and papers in hand.

The pressure against his chest loosens as he turns his attention to Jinyoung. His lips are pressed into as tight of a line as Jisung’s whole existence feels right now. This doesn’t seem good.

“Okay, there’s some good news and bad news, Jisung-ssi and…?”

“Hwang Hyunjin,” the other guy, Hyunjin says.

“Hyunjin-ssi.” Jinyoung nods towards him. “There is one more available room, Room 419, however it is considered a double room. For two dormmates.”

Jisung scowls. “Well then, one of us gets the single room, and the other takes the double, plain and simple.” Hyunjin sends him a dirty look. What? He’s telling the truth, that’s their only option at this point.

“That would be the ideal choice, yes,” Jinyoung says, going back to his papers, “however, we cannot let only one person have a double room. It would be unfair to one of you. Our best and fairest solution is for the two of you to take the double room—”

Jisung doesn’t hear the rest. The pressure in his chest recedes, but an entirely different one takes its place. 

He doesn’t think he’s shared a room with anyone, not even his brother.

He...doesn’t know how to feel about that.

He’s uncomfortable more than anything else. Just the thought of another person in his space sends pins and needles dancing up his arms.

It feels almost violating.

Jisung has the sudden urge to get up and run. Put as much space as possible between him and anyone else. He just wanted to rest. Why is this taking so long? Why is it so difficult?

He pushes down that thought as quickly as it arrived. No. He needs to be rational about this. Compromise.

Yeah. Compromise, that’ll make things better. Easier.

Somehow he doesn’t convince himself.

“Are you sure there aren’t any other rooms?” Hyunjin’s pained expression is probably the closest thing to what Jisung is feeling right now.

Jinyoung shakes his head. “I’m sorry. We normally pair people up a lot earlier to avoid all this confusion, but with the error in the room you both rented, this is our only option.” He turns on his heels. “I’ll leave you two to discuss your options. Just meet me downstairs once you’ve agreed, and you will be given the keys to Room 419.”

He walks away leaving Hyunjin and Jisung alone in the common area.

Jisung purses his lips. What to do now?

The pressure behind his eyes returns, and the urge to say something despite his crippling anxiety appears. He knows he’s supposed to start up a conversation, get the story going, gain love interest points or something, but honestly? He doesn’t feel like making a serious attachment while sleep-deprived and with a massive headache.

As if the universe could hear him, Jisung’s headache grows even worse.

“So what?” Well, turns out Jisung doesn’t need to say anything. Hyunjin has his arms crossed across his chest and an eyebrow raised. Jisung blinks at him, and he blinks back.

He’s waiting for Jisung to say something.

“Uh, I guess we’ve got no choice then,” Jisung murmurs. He doesn’t know what he’s saying anymore.

“Guess so.”

Jisung swallows. He adjusts his grip on his phone before it slips out of his clammy palms. Why...why is he so apprehensive about this?

“Look.” Jisung snaps his head up. Hyunjin isn’t meeting his eyes, but his eyebrows are furrowed and his shoulders are tense. “You don’t have to look so disgusted by this—” He gestures loosely between the two of them. “—whole thing. Yeah, we don’t have another choice. We just have to deal with it.”

Jisung scowls. “Don’t you think I know that?” he snaps back. The headache is back full force now.

There is another pause that Jisung is starting to hate. Hyunjin takes a deep breath. “Whatever. Just—just don’t.”

“You’re the one who—” Jisung cuts himself off, grumbling. It’s no use getting mad right now, but he can’t help the building pressure in his throat and the sudden urge to smack the guy across the face.

Honestly, he can’t tell where the universe’s influence ends and where his anger begins anymore.

“Don’t blame this on me, you’re the one who can’t keep his temper.”

“You’re already making this hard enough.” Jisung grits his teeth. “We have to share a room. For a year at best, three at worst.”

“Oh, I know. I just don’t think you do.”

“Ha?” Jisung sits up straight. “Coming from you. God, you don’t have to be so insufferable, Hwang.”

And fuck, fuck, fuck him because he didn’t mean to say that. Okay, maybe he did because Hwang Hyunjin is kind of an asshole, and Jisung doesn’t want to bunk with anyone prettier than him or much more of an asshole than he is (he knows, it’s not like he doesn’t know), but shit.

Hyunjin scowls, and Jisung thinks it’s unfair that he’s still really pretty like this. “I’m insufferable? Have you looked in a mirror recently?”

Jisung gets ready to fire back, but he feels a click in the back of his head and suddenly thinks this isn’t a good idea anymore. He bites the inside of his cheek and looks back to his phone. Hyunjin doesn’t goad him, only looking away himself.

Fuck this is what he’ll have to deal with for a year, maybe fucking more. The anger bubbling beneath his skin with the slight pressure of “this is what you’re supposed to be doing” echoing through his head, and isn’t that a big contradiction. He doesn’t want to be angry. He doesn’t want to fight, but damn it if this Hwang Hyunjin isn’t making it hard not to.

Jisung thinks back to Chan. He knows it’s early, but Chan may be the end game for him. He can’t imagine having to spend his entire life with Hwang Hyunjin.

Then again, he’s probably not even half way there.

This destiny thing is going to get a whole lot shittier.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I'm back hehe.
> 
> I sincerely apologize for not having updated in so long, I got really busy with school, and I had to adjust to my online class schedule.  
> Well, just in time for Jisung's birthday, I present: angry hamster Jisungie vs. the pretty roommate, Hyunjinnie! Got a tiny bit angsty, but what can you do? I just follow my heart when it comes to these things.
> 
> Thanks for reading, STAY safe~


	6. Update: Discontinued and to be Rebooted

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> UPDATES

Hi there. I'm sorry this isn't an update, but I have some reasons why I won't be able to continue this specific fic.

First of all, I'm working on a different writing project that's a little more important. I may be able to go back to this if I finish that project, but that's not all.

I realize that I don't have a lot of motivation to continue this project the way it is. It may be because of the pacing, the awkward writing, and the weird planning of this fic, but I can't find anymore motivation to continue it even if I have a general outline planned. That's just the way things are.

However, don't be so discouraged, but I am planning on rebooting this into an interactive Twitter AU! Maybe it won't be out right now since I'd need to plan quite a bit, and I still have school things to do, but I'm attached to this story, and I want to see how other people will pick and choose if the choice were given to them. There will also be a lot of changes to the plot, but I think it'll be more interesting that way.

I hope to see you if ever this story gets rebooted on Twitter. Thank you so much for enjoying my crappy little fanfiction.


	7. REBOOTED

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> REBOOTED

If you read my last chapter, I started up a Twitter account for the AU! It's [@skzhtsh](https://twitter.com/skzhtsh) and I hope that I get enough support to actually start writing it. There will be a lot of references to this original work that'll help you original readers make the choices you want to make.

I hope that if you enjoyed this work, that you spread around the Interactive Twitter AU. I hope it gets a decent following for the choices to actually matter. Thank you so much!!


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